Perceptions
by Razell
Summary: Paladin vs Abomination or Superior Being vs Vermin? It is all in the eye of the Beholder...


Perceptions

Jaggerjaw the Twice-Mawed glared in rage and disgust at the puny beast standing before him, the last of his pack. He was an ugly sight, with arms and legs and golden fur, and only two, (_TWO!_) Tiny eyes... Nothing like the perfection that was _he_, made in the image of The Great Mother herself. He was tired of this nuisance...

Garick held his longsword tightly as his eyes took in the monstrosity before. It_ couldn't_ be a beholder, truly? A beholder has a single great eye and ten smaller eyes, but this fiendish thing, this killer... Above it's drooling mouth, in place of it's large, central eye, between those heavy lids lay a _second_, cavernous maw, filled with dagger-like teeth. It was into that mouth that he'd seen Marta disappear... The look of horror on her face.. And the others... But he didn't want to think of that. The beast's circular body was almost twenty feet across and mottled red and black. By Torm, it _couldn't_ be a beholder! But it had slain his friends, and he would not rest until he'd seen it sent back to whatever hell had spawned it.

"Wretched vermin! How dare your pack invade my lair?" The duo-phonic resonance of the beholder's voice chilled Garick to the soul. "I swear by Torm the True that you shall pay for murdering my friends!" The paladin shouted defiantly, this beast had no central eye, no _Anti-Magic Eye_, so Garick could cast Divine spells freely. Unfortunately, so could the Abomination, as it had proven when it struck Corwen, the group's mage, with a _Death_ ray before he could even raise his wand. "You vermin _invade_ my home, _attack_ me and call _me_ a murderer when I destroy you..." Jaggerjaw was amazed at the audacity of this creature. The lives of vermin were of no importance in the grand scheme of things.

Garick shouted and swung his mithral broadsword against the beast's side. Blue blood splashed onto his face as the beholder roared in rage and pain. The blade struck deep into Jaggerjaw's flesh. Garick quickly began _Smite Evil_, but a massive tongue struck him with the force of a boulder, bashing him against the smooth stone wall. Jaggerjaw's eyestalks, articulated like the legs of an insect, bent toward the crumpled paladin. Jaggerjaw, outraged that the rat had bitten him, struck out with _Inflict Moderate Wounds_, he wanted to prolong this game...

Bruised and bloodied, Garick rose shakily to his feet and considered his options; the monster was massive, and had at least ten spells, including _Death_, as well as his two voracious maws. It was time to go on the offensive. He rushed the beast.

Jaggerjaw had no fear of defeat, for he was a superior being... But he understood the reality of pain. The wound already inflicted would scar him, but he would survive. He levitated to a safe height, looking down at his pathetic, earth-bound opponent. The human glared up at him, murder in his puny, powerless eyes. Puny, but fierce. A single flea infected with plague could kill a mighty giant, Jaggerjaw realized. He must not underestimate this human. He struck at the human with_ Disintegration_, but the vermin flung himself aside, the ground where he had stood seconds before became a deep hole.

Garick ran for cover. The beholder's lair was smooth and unadorned, save for rows of scrolls in shallow niches. He fled into a side tunnel, he needed time to regroup, to outwit this brute. He was under no illusions, the beholder knew it's lair, it had doubtless carved out every niche and crevice itself. But some tunnels were smaller, with lower ceilings, meaning the creature could not float too far out of reach.

Jaggerjaw recognized the human's tactic, clever, but lacking in true understanding. With his _Disintegration_ ray, Jaggerjaw could enlarge his tunnels even as he moved forward, and, if The Great Mother should smile upon him, (And why should she not?), he might catch the little vermin in the ray as well...

Garick clung to a rock outcropping above in the chamber off the tunnel, his sword inverted, waiting. He knew that the monster would anticipate just such an attack, and could see in all directions, but he was desperate.

He closed his eyes and muttered a prayer as the beholder exited the tunnel, on the_ other_ end of the cavern...

The End.

_Notes:_

If it's not obvious, the idea of a mouth in place of an eye comes from _The Corinthian_ in Neil Gaiman's _Sandman_ series. From what I've gathered, he's something of a Boogeyman with mouths in the place of his eyes. He eats the eyes of others and can see what they've seen. He seems fairly 'good' despite this habit. There were actually_ two_ Corinthians, but the first was an evil serial killer and had to be destroyed.

The name Jaggerjaw got stuck in my head, I wanted to name him Daggerjaw, but I couldn't do it.

Twice-Mawed comes from a character card in the _Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rage_ series, a Metis (Inbred and deformed) werewolf named _Grek Twice-Tongued_, who has... _Two tongues_... He's pretty cool-looking.

I don't know if Beholder blood is blue or not, it just seemed to fit.

_Jaggerjaw the Twice-Mawed_

Race- Beholder (Mutation)

Gender- None (Referred to as male for convenience)

Alignment- Lawful Evil

Circumference- 18' 5.3"

Weight- ?

Patron Deity- The Great Mother

Jaggerjaw has a second mouth in place of his central eye and is unusually large for a beholder. He believes himself to be the pinnacle of (Mortal) perfection, the spitting image of The Great Mother's glory. He has little to do with the lesser beings that inhabit the world, preferring to isolate himself. He is almost monk-like in his habits and meditations on the mysteries of The Great Mother.

His ten eye rays are: _Charm Monster, Charm Person,_ (Apparently there's a difference), _Cone of Cold, Death, Disintegrate, Fear, Flesh to Stone, Inflict Moderate Wounds, Slow_ and_ Telekinesis_.

_Garick_

Race- Human

Gender- Male

Alignment- Lawful Good

Height- 6' 2"

Weight- 177 lbs

Class- Paladin of Torm

Patron Deity- Torm

A defender of order and justice, from a human perspective, Garick has made it his mission to root out evil wherever it hides. He usually travels with an adventuring party. He had a mithral broadsword and wears armor with the symbol of Torm, a heavily armored fist, upon his chest.

_The Great Mother_

Alignment- Chaotic Evil

Class- Greater Deity and Mother-Goddess of the Beholder race.

Realm: The Realm of a Million Eyes, 6th Lair of The Abyss

She exists only to create more beholders, and every beholder believes itself as close in appearance to The Great Mother as possible, and all others blasphemous copies to be destroyed. The tragic irony is that The Great Mother is constantly shifting form, therefore no beholder resembles her, and yet every one probably resembles her at some point.

_Torm _

The Loyal Fury

The True

Alignment- Lawful Good

Class- Greater Deity of Civilization, Duty, Justice, Law, Obedience and Strength

Realm- Celestia, in The Astral Sea

A tough god who does not compromise and stresses duty, law and obedience over all things. He once killed the evil god Bane... By absorbing the souls of thousands of his worshipers aged 15 and up...

_Salvation may be found through service. Every failure of duty diminishes Torm and every success adds to his luster. Strive to maintain law and order. Obey your masters with alert judgement and anticipation. Stand ever alert against corruption. Strike quickly and forcefully against rot in the hearts of mortals. Bring painful, quick death to traitors. Question unjust laws by suggesting improvements or alternatives, not additional laws. Your fourfold duties are to Faith, Family, Masters and all Good beings of Faerun._

_The Creed of Torm_

_Beholders, etc... _copyright Wizards of The Coast_  
_

_Grek Twice-Tongued, Metis_ and _Werewolf: The Apocalypse_ copyright White Wolf Games

_Corinthian _and_ Sandman_ copyright Neil Gaiman


End file.
